My three grandchildren go back to school this week, and I'm already suffering withdrawal symptoms. They stay with me during the summer, and since I retired in April 2016, we've spent the last two summers together.
Sure, there are days I'm eager for my daughter to get home from work so that I can have some "me" time, but, for the most part, I seriously enjoy their company.
My grandchildren (except for my 7-month-old granddaughter in San Diego) live next door, and I see them most every day.
Karen Nazor HillLast week, the kids, Tilleigh, 10, Evie, 7, and William, 4, and I spent an entire day shopping for back-to-school clothes, going out to lunch and to a movie. At the end of the day, I realized they're downright fun.
Each child has a sense of humor (a family trait), and they're constantly making me laugh.
We laugh at the silliest things. For example, the day of the shopping spree, we were sitting at a red light in Hixson when Evie yelled from the back seat, "There's a rubber ducky in the drain." I looked across the street, and, yes, there was a yellow rubber duck stuck in the grate covering the drain. For whatever reason, it struck us as hysterically funny. I grabbed my iPhone and took a photo of the duck right before the light turned green.
The kids were laughing and started chanting, "Rubber ducky in the drain." Within a matter of minutes, Evie, turned the chant into a rap song, and we all began singing it. We were still singing it at the end of the day.
It also melted my heart that all three kids wanted to sit on my lap during the movie. They took turns. And when a kid sits on my lap, there's going to be a lot of hugging and kissing to take place. They all know from experience it's going to happen. It means everything to me that they, including a 10-year-old, are unashamedly affectionate with me.
When my father died in 2008, Tilleigh was 1 1/2. I saw the joy she brought to him, despite his illness, and to my mother, who was exhausted from being his main caretaker. When Tilleigh walked into their house, everything changed. She re-energized my parents and filled their home with love and laughter.
Then, in 2010, Evie, named after my mother, was born. Like her sister, Evie adored her great-grandmother. The girls spent at least several days and one night a week with Mother.
William, named after my father, was born in 2012 and was almost 2 when my mother died in 2014.
The children breathed life back into my mother after my father's death. They spent a lot of time with her, and, today, three years later, they talk about her as though she's still here.
I will be 65 in late September, making me officially "old." But I can say in all honesty, I'm having fun. I don't feel or act old, and I credit a lot of that to my grandchildren. They breathe life into me every day.
Unlike the rubber ducky stuck in the drain, I'm well aware than I'm one lucky duck.
Contact Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com.